[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 153 (Monday, August 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47985-47986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19523]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning
China's Compliance With WTO Commitments
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning
China's compliance with its WTO commitments.
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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will
convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of
its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the
commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
DATES: Persons wishing to testify at the hearing must provide written
notification of their intention, as well as a summary of their
testimony, by Wednesday, September 23, 2015. Written comments are also
due by Wednesday, September 23, 2015. A hearing will be held in
Washington, DC, on Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Notifications of intent to testify and written comments
should be submitted electronically via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please
contact Yvonne Jamison, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-
3475.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Yvonne
Jamison at (202) 395-3475. All other questions should be directed to
Terrence J. McCartin, Deputy Assistant United States Trade
Representative for China Enforcement, at (202) 395-3900, or Philip D.
Chen, Chief Counsel for China Enforcement, at (202) 395-3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 47986]]
1. Background
China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In
accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000
(Pub. L. 106-286), USTR is required to submit, by December 11 of each
year, a report to Congress on China's compliance with commitments made
in connection with its accession to the WTO, including both
multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the
United States. In accordance with section 421, and to assist it in
preparing this year's report, the TPSC is hereby soliciting public
comment. Last year's report is available on USTR's Internet Web site
(https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2014-Report-to-Congress-Final.pdf).
The terms of China's accession to the WTO are contained in the
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (including
its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the
Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. The
Protocol and Working Party Report can be found on the Department of
Commerce Web page, http://www.mac.doc.gov/china/WTOAccessionPackageNEW.html, or on the WTO Web site, http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3, WT/
MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).
2. Public Comment and Hearing
USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested
persons on China's compliance with commitments made in connection with
its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in
the following areas: (a) Trading rights; (b) import regulation (e.g.,
tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses); (c) export
regulation; (d) internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies,
standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary
measures, government procurement, trade-related investment measures,
taxes and charges levied on imports and exports); (e) intellectual
property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement);
(f) services; (g) rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial
review, uniform administration of laws and regulations) and status of
legal reform; and (h) other WTO commitments. In addition, given the
United States' view that China should be held accountable as a full
participant in, and beneficiary of, the international trading system,
USTR requests that interested persons specifically identify unresolved
compliance issues that warrant review and evaluation by USTR's China
Enforcement Task Force.
Written comments must be received no later than Wednesday,
September 23, 2015.
A hearing will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 2015, in Room 1,
1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508. If necessary, the hearing will
continue on the next business day. Persons wishing to testify orally at
the hearing must provide written notification of their intention by
Wednesday, September 23, 2015. The intent to testify notification must
be made in the ``Type Comment'' field under docket number USTR-2015-
0010 on the regulations.gov Web site and should include the name,
address and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony. A
summary of the testimony should be attached by using the ``Upload
File'' field. The name of the file should also include who will be
presenting the testimony. Remarks at the hearing should be limited to
no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the
TPSC.
All documents should be submitted in accordance with the
instructions in section 3 below.
3. Requirements for Submissions
Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or
written comments must do so in English and must identify (on the first
page of the submission) ``China's WTO Compliance.''
In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of
comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line
submissions, using the www.regulations.gov Web site. To submit comments
via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2015-0010 on the home
page and click ``search.'' The site will provide a search-results page
listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to
this notice and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' (For
further information on using the www.regulations.gov Web site, please
consult the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on ``How to
Use This Site'' on the left side of the home page.)
The www.regulations.gov Web site allows users to provide comments
by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a document
using an ``Upload File'' field. USTR prefers that comments be provided
in an attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to
type ``See attached'' in the ``Type Comment'' field. USTR prefers
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the
submission is in an application other than those two, please indicate
the name of the application in the ``Type Comment'' field.
For any comments submitted electronically containing business
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters ``BC.'' Any page containing
business confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers of submissions
containing business confidential information must also submit a public
version of their comments. The file name of the public version should
begin with the character ``P.'' The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed
by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments. Filers
submitting comments containing no business confidential information
should name their file using the name of the person or entity
submitting the comments.
Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic
submissions; rather, include any information that might appear in a
cover letter in the comments themselves. Similarly, to the extent
possible, please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in
the same file as the submission itself, not as separate files.
As noted above, USTR strongly urges submitters to file comments
through www.regulations.gov, if at all possible. Any alternative
arrangements must be made with Yvonne Jamison in advance of
transmitting the comments. Ms. Jamison should be contacted at (202)
395-3475. General information concerning USTR is available at
www.ustr.gov.
Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public
inspection, except business confidential information. Comments may be
viewed on the www.regulations.gov Web site by entering the relevant
docket number in the search field on the home page.
Edward Gresser,
Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2015-19523 Filed 8-7-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F5-P